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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057416">I'm Not Ready</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugsy101/pseuds/Bugsy101'>Bugsy101</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Definitely Comfort and fluff but not really hurt, Demeter is scared, Denial of Feelings, Emotionally yes, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I Might Turn It Into a Series of One shot's, Love Confessions, Mentions of past abuse, Munkustrap is extremely understanding, One Shot, Physically no, Romance, Stage Universe, but we'll see, kind of</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:47:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,293</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28057416</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bugsy101/pseuds/Bugsy101</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Demeter comes to a startling realization. One that she'll have to face whether she's ready, or not...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Demeter/Munkustrap (Cats)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>I'm Not Ready</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello all! This is inspired by a dialogue prompt that I found online. "I think I'm in love with you, and I'm terrified."<br/>I saw it, and immediately thought of this pairing (who am I kidding? I ALWAYS think of this pairing). So, I sat down to begin writing, and came out with this!<br/>I have a few more ideas for one shots, so I might eventually turn this into a little series. So stay tuned!<br/>When writing stories that aren't human au's I always have trouble deciding whether I want to picture them as real cats, or how they appear in the stage production. I tried my best to be as in the middle as possible, so I hope it turned out well in that aspect.<br/>Without further adieu, here you go!<br/>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Demeter laughed softly to herself as she watched Munkustrap play with the kittens.</p><p>	They all piled on top of him, as he chuckled loudly. He stood up with them still on his back, causing them all to fall to the ground, laughing hysterically.</p><p>	Munkustrap  glanced up and his eyes met Demeter’s. He smiled, warmly at her, before Pouncival wrapped his paws around his collar, and yanked in down to the ground.</p><p>	This made Demeter gasp in surprise. She placed her paw over her mouth, but quickly relaxed when Munkustrap stood back on his feet with a bright smile.</p><p>	That was one huge difference between this tribe and Macavity’s tribe. Demeter thought to herself. Back at Macavity’s tribe, the kittens were hardly seen, They were always off and learning how to fight. But here, they were always around, and everyone spoke to them and played with them. They were real members of the tribe.</p><p>	Then, of course there was Munkustrap. He was the protector of the tribe, and Old Deuteronomy’s heir. The protector of Macavity’s tribe was a cruel and proud tom who enforced strict curfews and punishments for not completing the most mundane tasks. Munkustrap on the other hand was kind and just. He always seemed to have time to play with the kittens. But his attentions also expanded to the entire tribe.</p><p>	Demeter knew it sounded foolish, because she was perfectly aware of the fact that he spent just as much time with the rest of the tribe as he did with her, but every time he smiled at her, or talked to her, she felt like the most important queen in the world. She loved the way he took time to get to know her, and didn’t constantly switch the topic of conversation over to what he felt like talking about. She believed that he genuinely cared about her.</p><p>	Munkustrap was shoved a little too hard by Electra, and he ended up falling into Demeter. She fell to the ground, and he looked down at her with a horrified expression, before quickly helping her back up.</p><p>	“Oh my, are you alright? Are you hurt?”</p><p>	Demeter chuckled, slightly as he tried his best to wipe off some of the dust that was covering her coat.</p><p>	“Yes, I am.” </p><p>	He looked up, and their eyes met.</p><p>	Demeter felt a slight flutter in her chest, as she got lost in his eyes. She almost began leaning towards him, but she realized what she was doing, and pulled back, surprised. </p><p>	“Um, I’m just going to head off for a quick nap. I’m feeling quite knackered.” Demeter breathed, before she ran off, leaving a very confused Munkustrap standing there.</p><p>	She walked on shaky legs until she was in a secluded spot right behind the tire. She closed her eyes, and breathed deeply, trying to calm her racing heart.</p><p>	With her eyes closed, however, all she saw were the same kind, shining eyes.</p><p>	'What’s wrong with me?' She thought to herself. 'You can’t be thinking this way about Munkustrap, or any tom for that matter. You’re just going to get hurt again.'</p><p>	Her eyes opened.</p><p>	'But, this is Munkustrap. He’s not like any tom you’ve ever met…'</p><p>	“Demeter?” She heard her name being called, softly. It was Munkustrap.</p><p>	She blinked away the tears that she had hardly even realized were falling away from her eyes. “ I-I’m here!” She called in a voice that was more forced and choked than she had wanted.</p><p>	The grey tabby poked his head around the corner of the tire, and a relieved smile formed on his face when he noticed her. “Thank goodness. I thought that you had run off from the junkyard.” A frown replaced the smile when he noticed her red eyes. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>	Demeter tried to say something, but the only thing that came out was a sob. Her legs gave out from beneath her, and Munkustrap knelt down beside her, concerned.<br/>
“Are you alright? Are you ill?”</p><p>	Shaking her head, Demeter tried her best to speak. “I think….” She glanced back up at him, only to look away again.</p><p>	“Demeter?” Munkustrap’s voice was soft and concerned. “What’s wrong?”</p><p>	“Can you promise me not to think any less of me if I tell you this?”</p><p>	“Of course. I could never think ill of you.” His voice was so soft, that Demeter glanced back up and her eyes met his again, this time with a bit more confidence. </p><p>	“I think I’m in love with you…” She sobbed, “and I’m terrified. ”</p><p>	Munkustrap’s eyes widened, and his shoulder’s tensed up, slightly. “…What?”</p><p>	Demeter took in his reaction and turned away from him. “I’m sorry…”</p><p>	“Demeter,” Munkustrap began softly, placing a gentle paw on her shoulder, “you have no reason to be ashamed or sorry.”</p><p>	She turned back to him, barely meeting his eyes. “…But, why?”</p><p>	Munkustrap seemed to shrink back, and kicked at the dirt with his paw, nervously. “Well… I-I… er.” He glanced up at her, catching her looking at him, before glancing back down. “Wow, this isn’t at all how I pictured this would happen in my head, but I guess we’re doing this now… Um, over the course of having known you… I may have developed, ahem … feelings similar to what you’re feeling towards me.”</p><p>	Demeter’s eyes widened. “Y-You love me?”</p><p>	“Ah… essentially, yes.”</p><p>	They both stared at each other for a moment not knowing what to do.</p><p>	Munkustrap’s face softened a bit, and cocked his head, inquisitively.  “… Why does it scare you?”</p><p>	Looking away, nervously, Demeter shrugged, not knowing what to say. “I suppose it’s that I’ve never felt anything like this before. Well, anything that was this strong. What I felt for Macavity was nothing but a young and naïve infatuation. But with you… if you don’t mind me saying , I feel like I can be myself around you, and I don’t have to constantly keep up an image, that will completely disappoint you if it falls.” The small smile that had been starting to show quickly evaporated. “And then there’s the fact that even though I know that you’re not him, and you’re probably the kindest and most wonderful tom I’ve ever met… I’m still terrified that I’ll get hurt in the same way. That my trust and love will be betrayed. So… I don’t even know if I’m ready to feel something for someone again, just yet, even though my heart completely tells me otherwise. I'm just... I'm not ready.” She stopped and glanced up to Munkustrap, to see what his reaction was.</p><p>	A small, warm smile formed on Munkustrap’s face, and he nodded his head. “’I completely understand that, Demeter. I know that everything must have been hard for you. We don’t have to do anything yet, even though we now both know how we feel about each other. If you’re not ready yet, I’ll wait. I’d be happy too if it means that when… I mean, if we eventually decide to pursue something, you’ll be the happiest version of yourself that you can be.” He smiled, brightly at her. “In fact, I’d really like that … if you would, of course.”</p><p>	Demeter stared at him with tears forming in her eyes. Not being able to help herself, she moved towards Munkustrap and embraced him, affectionately, taking him by<br/>
surprise.</p><p>	She looked up, and their faces were so close together, their noses were almost touching. “Thank you.” She breathed, as their eyes met. “You have no idea how much that means to me.” She leaned up, and nuzzled his chin. This time, Munkustrap responded with a smile on his face, and leaned into it.</p><p>	“Would you like to … go for a quick walk?” He asked, quietly.</p><p>	“I would love to.” Demeter smiled, warmly at him.</p>
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